Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Sanibel Stories: The Boys are Coming! The Boys are Coming!

Late our first night in Fort Myers, we started receiving texts.... 
the suspense on our end was palpable as we received constant updates from Tim
 keeping us abreast of the score.
Our future hung in the balance!

If they won the game, then they would play again four days later.  That would mean that for those of us already in Florida, the females would outnumber the males (well male, poor little Timmy) three to one.
That in turn would mean at least four or more days of pastry shops and pedicures, boutique shopping and sunbathing for hours.

On the other hand....if the game was a loss....Tim and the two boys would hop in the already packed car and head south.  (Molly the dog was already at the kennel for those of you wondering...)  It would take them TWENTY-SEVEN hours according to the Garmin, so they would arrive approximately a day later....which would mean the ratio would shift and we would have a vacation of a more "sporty" nature...and a MUCH higher grocery bill.

AND THEY.....lost!
Sadly, in an AGONIZING OVERTIME battle, Andrew and Zach's 2010-11 Basketball Season came to the end.  They were sad.  But they gathered their emotions and jumped in  and headed south for a short little drive to the ocean!

 As for us...the next morning my Mom and I...we hid our unpolished nails, got pen and paper and thought...how are we going to FEED everybody for 10 days!!!!????
It was daunting.
Nonetheless we made our list and hit the road after proper carbohydrate sustenance...
....and proper stretching...
...and stretching was not a bad thing before
 ....we TACKLED the grocery store...

...because this is what we had to carry up three flights of stairs that morning!
As we walked into the store, I thought to myself, "I bet I spend $360 on this trip."
I spent $365.
I hate when I am wrong.  Wrong on the flounder.  Wrong on the grocery bill...but just by a little.

A lot of groceries you say?
Didn't I tell you?
The boys were coming!


"Mom Moment" Alert:  She looks so GROWN UP.  She's so TALL!  When did this HAPPEN?  To her complete lack of comprehension, I snapped photos of her as she pushed that loaded cart all through the parking lot.  It just struck me then how fast time flies....I think it was yesterday that I would have been pushing that cart, while pulling the other cart, and she would have been hanging over the handlebars.  Ok...I'm done now!  Ouch.

Next challenge....how to get the groceries to our condo on Sanibel Island with NO open trunk space....

There was momentary confusion when we told them to "get in first."


....then they realized the plan....

"Pile it on Mom!".....NOTICE the basketball under Timmy's elbow.  It rarely left his sight.
She's thinking...."We will never eat all this....even if we can carry it all into the condo....What floor are we on by the way?"
"third floor...So who wants to head to the beach?"
Driver's perk:  NO GROCERIES IN MY LAP....or UNDER MY FEET....OR BEHIND MY HEAD.

Our family tradition is...whenever we arrive at a beach we immediately RUN to the ocean before we do ANYTHING else!  It was a BEAUTIFUL beach...full of shells and....
...these things...
I know every Mom out there is thinking......"somebody's going to cut their foot!"
...AND YOU ARE ALL CORRECT!  Good instincts ladies!
This too is a family tradition....or a Timmy tradition anyway!  The first five minutes are the most dangerous!
But we persevered and suncreened up...
After a lovely, sunny but cool afternoon exploring the beach...
....we found a little place outside for dinner to savor the atmosphere...
....while the guys were still driving....
...and driving...
....we suffered for them....
...and driving...
...the hook game was a great way to keep our minds off of their agony....
...and driving....

...but finally-- they made it!
After 27 hours driving in a small car....they RAN OUT OF LAND....

...and this is what a dad looks like after spending 27 hours in a car with his two teenage sons...
Look at his eyes...is he happy...or is he crazy?
I can't decide.
What do you think?


1 comment:

Bren said...

We took a picture of Ashley strolling downtown Philadelphia and thought who is this young woman? So I stole your post a bit, hope you don't mind.